Monthly Archives: January 2009
30 Windows Tools You Didn’t Even Know You Needed
I think it’s time to produce some linkable content up in here. I noticed that most of my posts lately have been esoteric rants, reviews of old games and movies and random stuff that has little significance to people other … Continue reading
Death of Print for Internet Savvy Niches
Hey, remember when I complained that most of the technology publications these days are full of fail? Apparently, this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, this has been going on for years. Eric Sink talked about the untimely demise … Continue reading
Railroading vs Sandboxing
Time to talk about real role playing games. You know, pen and paper stuff. It should be a nice break from the ongoing discussion of Oblivion and things related to it. How do you feel about railroading? It is an … Continue reading
Fun Ways to Avoid Invisible Walls
Last week I talked about the ultimate immersion killer in video games: the invisible wall at the edge of the game play area. We discussed in quite a bit of detail how to conceal such an abomination. We talked about … Continue reading
The Most Ancient Form of Compression
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say that’s a damn good lo-fi compression algorithm. I mean, think about it – you can sometimes save yourself a lot of explaining, and describing by simply scribing some misshapen … Continue reading
MySpace Finally Dead
I head that MySpace is dead. No one actually uses that site anymore. At least that’s what I’m told. I haven’t logged into my account in ages. People have been talking about death of MySpace for several years now. There … Continue reading
Writing Letters The Old Fashioned Way
I was flipping through channels the other day, and saw a very odd scene on TV. It featured a teenage girl sitting on a couch and writing a letter to her best friend. What came as a shock to me … Continue reading
Translation vs Localization
Not so long ago, my brother and me were watching Shin Chan on [adult swim]. If you don’t know what [adult swim] is, that probably means you either don’t have cable TV or you don’t live in US. Let me … Continue reading
Skill Checks vs Minigames
I’ll tell you a little secret. I don’t particularly like mini games in my computer RPG’s. I actually don’t think they add anything to the game play. If I wanted to solve little puzzle games I would exit the game, … Continue reading
Into the Forest: Rebuilding Civilization After a Meltdown
Here is an interesting question for you: how long do you think it would take us to rebuild our civilization if the world died tomorrow? Let’s say that the worst, most disturbing predictions of the Peak Oil scenario all turn … Continue reading
Invisible Walls Kill Immersion
I’m going to talk about Oblivion again today. Friday post will be something entirely different – I promisse. Please keep in mind that while I complain about this game a lot, I continue playing it. It’s not bad – it’s … Continue reading
Oblivion: Few Must Have Mods and a Bug
As you have probably realized by now, the fact that I started playing Oblivion means I will talk about it for a little while. I apologize if you happen to be a reader who hates that game with a passion. … Continue reading
Oblivion First Impression
A while ago, a cursory glance on the back of the Oblivion box convinced me that it wouldn’t run on my computer. I think that was before I upgraded my video card and added more memory. Recently I was looking … Continue reading
IE, JQuery, Hovering and Option Elements
I hate Internet Exploder with a passion. Why does it need to be such a piece of non-compliant, non standard crap? It’s not like I was trying to do something outrageous. It was simple and logical script, but it wouldn’t … Continue reading
Fast Travel in Sandbox RPG’s and MMO’s
Today I want to talk about a very, very controversial topic – namely fast travel in RPG’s and MMO’s. It is controversial because most people have very strong opinions on this topic. To some people a fast travel method can … Continue reading
SIC Codes – SQL for Database Import
I was asked to magicalize something that that will allow for categorizing companies in our database using SIC Codes. SIC is a deprecated standard. It is actually being phased out of use in favor of NAICS codes. But the powers … Continue reading
Technology Magazines are Full of Fail
I do not buy or read computer/technology related magazines. At some point I decided that they all suck. It’s usually not their fault though. It is just that since they are usually monthly publications they can’t possibly compete with the … Continue reading
Write LOGO Code…
As you may remember, this past semester I had my students do some very simple programming exercises in LOGO. The lab session could actually be considered a success since most of the students seemed to enjoy playing with the Tortue … Continue reading
Electronic Test Taking
I’m a fan of technology. I believe that most things can be made better via automation, virtualization and all the other *-tions that introduce technology into equation. In most cases, if something is preceded by “electronic” or “online” it means … Continue reading
Potentially Awesome Movies Ruined Half Way Through
I really don’t know why do I continue to watch Hollywood movies. 90% of the blockbusters out there are total crap. Stuff that is actually worth watching is incredibly rare. I would say that you probably won’t find more than … Continue reading